Family History software

[SuzanneD]

This has worried me because I have downloaded the Roots Magic free program and entered my data but I didn't see anything about a hints facility and even if I had, I wouldn't have expected it to link me to a site like My Heritage.

I use the full version of RootsMagic, and have updated it recently to the version that links to MyHeritage and provides hints from it. I did not turn off this function for a while until I got sick of the notifications. In light of this thread, I have been to have a look to see whether any of my data has been transferred to MyHeritage, by searching there for some unusual names in my database that don't appear in many online trees (I must have registered at some point at MH, but I don't have a subscription with them).

My data DOES NOT appear at MyHeritage - so, Chrissy, I would say that you don't have anything to be worried about (and, as you note, I don't think this feature is available with the free version anyway). RootsMagic appears to be only reading from existing information at MyHeritage unless you go through the steps to link individuals in your RM database to MH - and you would know if you were doing that. I have used this RootsMagic feature to link my RM data with FamilySearch trees, and it's quite cumbersome and has to be done person by person.

 

[chrissy1]

Having ticked the box when I installed Roots Magic free program to say I didn't want links with Family search (NO mention of My Heritage as I recall), I decided to follow Pauline's instructions above to check (many thanks as I wouldn't have found that link very easily) and discovered that the little light bulbs which appear very slowly after loading the data indicated that the web links facility WAS turned on, so I hope My Heritage hasn't taken my data. However, like the situation I had years ago when my tree was stolen from Rootsweb and displayed on Ancestry without my knowledge and 'hidden' private data was revealed, I don't have a subscription to My Heritage, so have no way of finding out.....
I quote from the Roots Magic help page:
"This information is not collected by MyHeritage and is deleted automatically after matches are calculated and displayed to you. Smart Matches™ are not bi-directional: RootsMagic users receive them with trees of MyHeritage users, but MyHeritage users do not receive them with trees of RootsMagic users. Note that some of the matches can be viewed and confirmed for free, while others require a MyHeritage data subscription"
I wonder.....????? Do I trust them? The last sentence does suggest that it's merely a way of getting people to subscribe to My Heritage, but I guess time will tell. I tried to be so careful, but it shows how the less savvy are easily duped!!

 

[Bob Spiers]

The last sentence does suggest that it's merely a way of getting people to subscribe to My Heritage, but I guess time will tell. I tried to be so careful, but it shows how the less savvy are easily duped!!

You are not alone Chrissy, there go others, and I also in the distant past. However perhaps we can take comfort from those now advising MH cannot poach data in the way I know they did in the past when my FTL became part of their stable - and akin to the way Rootsweb data appeared in Ancestry. So maybe I (we)protest too much?

Whatever you do resist registering with MH (see Suzanne's post) as if memory serves that was how I got sucked into the innocuous 'free' MH family tree web and subsequent subscription. (FYI there is a 'Myheritage Family Tree Complaints' Community on Facebook - I wonder why?)

 

[raven]

I would like to add a couple of cents worth of experience...with the Legacy programme. I've used it for several years (probably not to its full potential yet) and do recommend it BUT I am gutted at some of the hiccups when I upgraded to the version 8 recently. Its file conversion/update thing it had to do when I moved my gedcom across created practically double the individuals in my tree (instead of merging them tidily) because as far as I can work out the settings did not all sync and the merge did not recognise many straightforward matches. My tree is large, and by the time I'd realised what had happened I'd already added new data and couldn't simply go back. There have been other niggly bugs in the new version, and sometimes I'm ready to scream because the older version worked so much smoother (but there are some very nice new features in the upgrade). I still recommend Legacy but for the novice techie I predict there could be some frustration & confusion.


BTW, regarding MH - has anyone notice its new feature? "discovery hub" they've called it, and it seems to be a smart match super power
If you use it, you have the ability to connect/match a whole line of family to an individual in a single click. I shudder at the thought!

 

[Bob Spiers]

BTW, regarding MH - has anyone notice its new feature? "discovery hub" they've called it, and it seems to be a smart match super power
If you use it, you have the ability to connect/match a whole line of family to an individual in a single click. I shudder at the thought!

As do I -as do I! But think of the appeal to those who claim roots back to Adam? Now with the click of a button MH may be able to deliver the proof

 

[chrissy1]

I am sure that's the appeal of so many features like 'discovery hub', but I am not convinced about the hub's ability to deliver accuracy....!!!!! But hey, maybe that's no longer important? There are a small, select band of people who actually do their OWN research these days and check and cross reference online information or ask the submitter to verify their sources - few and far between - and with more devices like the discovery hub, some people will be even less inclined to work things out for themselves or check the reliability. Gone are the days of travelling to the record office to look at parish records yourself. What joy!! The perpetuation of even more fantasy trees and I have seen some corkers!!

That brings me to the arguments for and against having an online tree which I know have already been discussed in the forum. If you have an accurate tree, then thankfully reliable data is being passed on, but how many times does it then become attached to someone else's tree a continent away where no relationship exists, merely because the name is the same? ....and how many online trees are pure fiction already? Yes Raven, I shudder at the thought.

BTW I had no problems loading my gedcom from Reunion onto Legacy 8.0 free version. The fields all ended up in the right places and excess data (religion, education, occupation etc) and my copious notes were stored elsewhere. Similarly no problem whatsoever loading onto Rootsmagic free version.

 

[SuzanneD]

BTW I had no problems loading my gedcom from Reunion onto Legacy 8.0 free version. The fields all ended up in the right places and excess data (religion, education, occupation etc) and my copious notes were stored elsewhere. Similarly no problem whatsoever loading onto Rootsmagic free version.

That's good news, Chrissy - I hope you have fun exploring the possibilities of the newer programmes.

 

[chrissy1]

I have as yet to discover all that the newer programs will do that the old one wouldn't. They are in colour which is nice and the pedigree charts and descendant are certainly more compact and far better presented, as Reunion's were about as spread out as Genesreunited trees, so I used waterfall charts, but I can't seem to edit word files after I have prepared them on Legacy which is a nuisance, as it seems the data has to remain exactly as it's included in the tree, which isn't always what I want. I can chooses to omit or include notes, but it seems I have to do exactly ythe same for every person in the tree. As yet I haven't tried to include photos and scanned data, though I never got around to trying with my old program either. However, as my son gets married in 2 weeks, I think further investigation will have to wait now, but at least I know that I could use either Legacy or Roots magic and they would be OK if I had to update to another computer. Does anyone know if it's true that Legacy 8 is not going to be updated further and if so, would that be a problem? It hasn't worried me that I never had an update with Reunion as I have never had any problems with it but from what people tell me, it was quite advanced in its capabilities for its time.

 

[raven]

I would image Legacy will continue to update, and fix patches, as it continues. It is a very easy process to follow - basically just a couple of button clicks. It checks for updates monthly, and puts out upgrades occasionally.

What do you mean about being unable to edit word files?

 

[chrissy1]

Raven, I often send my family history to family members as a word document, especially to those who don't have a FH program or those to whom I do not wish to send a gedcom. At present I have the option to create a word document to include names, dates and places only or to include additional notes and census information for each person. However, I often want to remove specific sensitive personal information from certain peoples' notes only or remove certain descendants completely. My present program allows me to edit the word document, cutting out any notes and people that I don't wish to include before I send it. As far as I can see, Rootmagic and Legacy are not as flexible as this and once a word document has been prepared, it cannot be altered - it either has to include full notes for everyone or none for anybody. However, I may have missed an edit option, as I am sure much newer programs should do far more than my old dinosaur! (I am hoping so, as this is a facility I use regularly.)

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Anything that creates a word document has NO control over whether that file can be edited in word or not. As long as the file is actually a word document and not a PDF document. Note the only thing I can think of that would prevent an actual word document being edited within word (ie not trying to edit it in the family history program) would be if it were read only. Even then it you could open and edit in Word you would just have to save it as a different name.

For all these reasons I don't think it's saving a word document instead it's probably a PDF.

If you are sure it's a word document can you explain the steps you take in Legacy or Rootsmagic and we can try to replicate the problem and suggest a solution.

 

[SuzanneD]

As far as I can see, Rootmagic and Legacy are not as flexible as this and once a word document has been prepared, it cannot be altered

Hi Chrissy, as you have guessed, you can definitely do this in the newer software - but you save the file and then edit it with your normal word processing software.

The steps in RootsMagic are as follows:
Click on 'Reports' in the menu at the top of the screen and decide what sort of report you want to print. It sounds like you are usually doing a 'Narrative Report' of some sort. If you click on that it will give you a choice of Ancestors or Descendants in different layouts. For the purposes of this exercise, pick any of the choices and click 'Generate Report'. The software then generates the report. You are right that you can't edit this here before you print it out - this is a 'Report Viewer' screen.

There is a 'Save' button on the top menu: click this and you will have some choices. Save the report as a 'Rich Text File'. You can then open this up in pretty much any word processing program (it doesn't need to be MS Word) and cut out the notes or people you don't want to include, change the formatting, anything you like!



Other programs will have a similar facility: most of them print to the RTF format so if you look up RTF in the help file you should get instructions on how to create. This also has the advantage that you can save a copy on your computer of what you have sent.

 

[Alexander Bisset]

Note you should also be able to mark some notes and facts as private then when you save the file you tell it to exclude private facts and notes.

 

[chrissy1]

Thank you Suzanne - this is exactly what I was trying to do - a narrative report. I didn't realise I needed to save it and open it up elsewhere as I could edit immediately with my old program. MANY thanks for the instructions - I wouldn't have known to save it as a Rich Text File either.......
Thanks, Alexander - I have discovered how to mark individuals as 'private' or 'invisible' with Legacy, but as yet not with Rootsmagic.......but in between preparing for my son's wedding in 2 weeks I am learning how to master some of the workings of these programs........but sometimes it is just a part of the notes I wish to omit.

 

[LynneB]

I am using FTM 2010 on a Windows 7 computer. I have a private tree on Ancestry (because I can access it from my iPad wherever I am). I have read the warnings/advice from FTM regarding 'moving forward' and the compatibility of the software with Windows Explorer and Windows operating system.
For several months I have not been able to view photographs of original documents in FTM but have had to open them in a new window. My browser of choice is Firefox (this may change to Chrome because Firefox has crashed several times lately) yet my FTM software defaults to Windows Explorer when I click 'open in new window'. As of this morning, I cannot save these media documents to my computer -- I have to open them again in Microsoft Office Photo Manager and save them from there. This is the latest in a string of annoying 'behaviours' from my software.
This past weekend, my software has begun sending me script error messages every time I click on a link to an Ancestry page. Yesterday, my software froze three times in less than an hour -- the third time closing it with Windows Task Manager wasn't enough; I had to close the computer and start again (annoying because I had several other things, like spreadsheets and Word as well as internet sites like FMP, LostCousins, etc open at the same time).
I have up-to-date anti-virus protection on my computer and run it daily.
It took me a while to get used to FTM 2010 but now I could use it half-asleep! I rarely use other functions like 'place' or ''publish' but I do like being able to see all the family at once and have customised the information I see for my own use. Simply put, I have become comfortable with the software and would rather upgrade than change to another software program.
I have thought about upgrading to FTM 2014 for a while but reviews (on other sites) are mixed: unfortunately, reviews that say "I hate it" without specifics are unhelpful. My MIL bought FTM 2012 after using FTM 2009 and didn't like it at all because she found it so different from her old software. I have also noticed that on one supplier's website that upgrading may not be a simple process but that users of older software may have to download FTM 2005 to move information from older software to FTM 2014.
Has any one upgraded from 2010 to 2014? Was it difficult? Is the new software radically different from the 2010 version?
Does anyone have any advice to share?

 

[Alexander Bisset]

LynneB the viewing of documents and saving media is probably down to what the default program used to view such things is. FTM uses a built in version of IE to browse the web as do many programs as this is what Microsoft supply to programmers like myself.

I suspect therefore that when you click "open in a new window" that something isn't set right and you are circumventing the normal process. ie: to view pictures in FTM you should only need to click to view image you should never need to right click and open in a new window.

Can you take a screen shot of where you are trying to open a window before you click and a second one after. Its probably quite a quick and simple fix assuming my diagnosis is correct.

If you've not taken a screenshot before then click start | Run and search for snipping tool.


On your question of upgrading. I run FTM 2014 and have upgraded numerous times to reach this version. There is nothing initially that would strike you as that different in FTM 2014 vs FTM 2010. The indexing pane is better and there is better organisation of places. The web integration is markedly improved. The biggest change is the vast improvements in the synchronisation with your online tree. It is so much quicker to sync now and is a two way sync so you can browse stuff on your ipad notice something needing changed then change it on the iPad and it will sync back to your desktop tree very easily. It could do this in FTM 2010 but it was a lot more clumsy.

The downsides of upgrading, I can't think of that any really. The default colour scheme is different and you can set it up to view more of your pedigree tree at a time so the screen is split top half shows pedigree bottom half shows family - husband wife then list of children. Perhaps its this split screen people didn't like? I forget what FTM 2010 looked like but I can't recall the upgrade causing any problems.

Perhaps if you take a screenshot of a default FTM 2010 screen I can take one of the default FTM 2014 screen and you can compare the two.

 

[chrissy1]

I have downloaded my tree onto a free copy of Legacy 8, but over the past few days I have had problems with it crashing every time I input new data. Obviously it's extremely annoying as I then have difficulty locating where I was as I have yet to find a usable index to jump straight to the person I require. (I am only typing data in manually - nothing fancy.) Has anyone else had problems with Legacy crashing? Is there a limit as to the tree size on the free version?

 

[Gillian]

No, I've never had any trouble, but I don't have the free version. Perhaps that makes a difference. I don't think there's a limit to tree size.

 

[Gillian]

Thinking a bit more about what you wrote above, Chrissy, I don't quite know what you mean by 'usable index to jump straight to the person' you require. One way would be to click on View in the Ribbon (along the top) and then on Name List (at left hand side) and then double click on the person you want. If you just want to go to the last person you were dealing with, click on the little backward pointing arrow (which will say Move Back if you hover over it) on the 'quick access toolbar', a little row of symbols either above or below the ribbon. In the pic. below it's next to the big L (for Legacy) in the top left hand corner. Any help? Someone else may have a better way.

 

[raven]

Has anyone else had problems with Legacy crashing?

Yes! Most often since upgrading to Legacy 8. I follow their help guidelines but it hasn't really fixed the issues permanently. You could try reporting the errors, but you could be referred back to their help guidelines if its a 'normal' error.

Sometimes, going into the FILE tab, then FILE MAINTENANCE then CHECK/REPAIR at least sorts the issue for a while.

I have a huge file, but I don't want to split it as I find crossover lines between distant branches if they're all in one tree.